Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence Revised

The USCIS has revised the instructions on Form I-751 which is generally filed by green card holders who have conditions on their residency - often by marriage or investors.
The revised instructions direct the form to be filed either to the California or to the Vermont Service Centers, depending on the state of residency.
California Service Center.
Petitioners […]

Election Season - What Can Non-U.S. Citizens Do?

It is election season and many non-U.S. citizens are interested in being involved in the election process.  We receive a number of inquiries about what election-related activities are permitted by non-U.S. citizens and we republish an article we wrote in April 2008: Foreigners and the U.S. Political Process - Permitted Activities.
In addition, voting unlawfully is […]

Schedule Departure Program to End

After few weeks, the program entitled “Scheduled Departure” is about to end, according to the Associated Press.  The program allowed illegal immigrants who are subject to judicial order to leave the United States and who do not have a criminal record to turn themselves in voluntarily and be allowed to wrap up their departure in […]

OPT 17-month Extension Court Challenge Fails

We wrote in June about the lawsuit challenging the 17-month OPT extension for STEM students.  The lawsuit was brought by  the Immigration Reform Law Institute, joined by the Programmers Guild and other organizations.   The lawsuit challenged the administration’s decision to extend the work period for students under the OPT program and argued that the OPT […]

Re-Entry Permit Filing Requires Physical Presence in the U.S.

An AAO decision was released recently which commented on whether it is required for a petitioner who has filed a Form I-131, application for re-entry permit to be physically in the country when the application is filed.

The answer, according to the AAO decision is that the petitioner must be physically located in the U.S. at the time the I-131 re-entry permit application is filed. While it is true that the AAO decision is based on the old rules which did not require biometrics to be taken for each re-entry permit application, it is important to understand that all re-entry permits should be filed when the petitioner is in the U.S. and that the petitioner must attend the biometric appointment or risk a denial of the application.

Greenspan: How to Solve the Housing Crisis

The title may not suggest how this post is related to labor immigration, but it is.  In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the formed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested that one of the easiest, yet politically difficult, ways to alleviate the housing crisis is by … a major expansion of the quotas […]

September 2008 Visa Bulletin - EB-2 Progresses, EB-3 May Retrogress

The September 2008 Visa Bulletin has been released by the Department of State.  It brings a mix of good and bad news.
The good news for EB-2 applicants from India and China continues this month as well - the dates for EB-2 India and EB-2 China moved by two months, from June 1, 2006, to August […]

USCIS Aims to Decrease Naturalization Processing Times

The USCIS has released an update to the projected processing times for naturalization petitions.  Based on updated projections, USCIS estimates that the naturalization process would take an average of 10-12 months by the end of September 2008 (compared with the estimated 16-18 months projections announced last year).
The increase in processing time was mainly due to […]

Automatic Visa Revalidation Program - Travel to Contiguous Territories

The Department of State rule, known as the “automatic revalidation” of visas is a rule which allows holders of almost all classes of U.S. visas to travel to a “contiguous territory” and return to the U.S. without a current valid stamp in the passport.

Persons in F, J, H and O status can travel to Canada or Mexico and return to the U.S. without a valid visa stamp. Persons in F and J status can, in addition to Mexico and Canada, visit the “adjacent islands” (Caribbean islands except Cuba) and return to the U.S. without a valid visa stamp in their passport.

Please read the entire article for more details on the automatic visa revalidation program.

Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) Goes Live

We have written previously on several occasions about the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which is now live and operational.  Direct link.
The new system opened on August 1 and will be voluntary in nature until January 12, 2009, when it becomes mandatory for all individuals traveling under the visa waiver program (VWP).  We have […]